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Past stories Living off-the-grid New Brunswick's Saint John River Ontario's Bruce Trail Canadian Ski Marathon Elk Island National Park Rallying for rallysport Montreal - Circus city Beluga Bytes Dawson - a musical adventure Bald Eagle Confederation Trail Boning up on the badlands Ukkusiksalik National Park Geocaching Discover Cypress Hills Saint Joseph's Oratory A walk through Stanley Park Sudbury's science centre Acadia continues Toronto's underground world

At the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, in the southeast corner of Quebec, lies a region called the Eastern Townships. Home to wooded valleys, vast lakes, vineyards and picturesque villages, the history of this area begins with the Abenakis. Part of the extended Algonquin family, the Abenakis used the region as a hunting and fishing ground during their settlements.

In the late 1700s, during and after the American War of Independence, the Loyalists (immigrants wanting to stay loyal to the British crown,) arrived in the region. In 1792, as part of the British Empire, Canada named the area as the Eastern Townships. The Loyalists named the villages, and these British names remain today: Sherbrooke, Dunham and Hatley just to name a few.

The Eastern Township's diversity continued to flourish as the Irish Catholics arrived in the early 1800s, followed by the French Canadians around 1850. Presently,The Township's population is about 94 percent francophone.